No 2

(Lord, Teach Us to Pray)

This is the first of several studies on the subject of prayer. One of the greatest blessings of being a Christian is the privilege we have of talking to our Heavenly Father in prayer. In fact, according to the Bible, we are to “….come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” Heb 4:16. So we can ask ourselves, if prayer is such a great privilege, why is it so neglected? Let’s look at some of the possible reasons: First there are those who don’t believe that God can answer prayer; but we know He does – “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” Jam 5:16b. Then there are those who feel uncomfortable when they are in God’s presence because of sin in their lives “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” Psa 66:18. Still others are so caught up in their busyness (yes, doing the Lord’s work) that they neglect their prayer life; we recall Martha “But Martha was cumbered about much serving” Luke 10:40a. Many other Christians just don’t know how to pray; this is not something new, Jesus’ own Apostles didn’t know and they asked Him “Lord, teach us to pray” Luke 11:1.

The Lord responded to this request by giving what has been commonly called The Lord’s Prayer; the text can be found in Luke 11: 1-4 “1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” This prayer is also given in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 and Jesus did not intend it to be repeated over and over again; it was given as a model or as a pattern because He said in Matthew 6 “After this manner therefore pray ye:” v9a. The pattern of the Lord’s Prayer encourages us to have the correct attitude when approaching the God of the Universe. When we pray “Our Father who art in heaven”, we display a childlike attitude as if there were no barriers between Him and us. This prayer contains “seed” thoughts for more enlarged and more fully developed prayers. It contains areas of emphasis both for God and for us: God’s name (“hallowed be Thy name”); God’s kingdom (“Thy kingdom come”); God’s will (“Thy will be done”). Turning to our needs the prayer continues: our daily bread (“give us this day our daily bread”); our cleansing (“forgive us our sins”); our deliverance (“lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”).